


Welcome to the Hellmouth (BTVS 1.01)

by thecompanionrose



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Archived From Tumblr, Essay, Fanwork Research & Reference Guides, Meta, Meta Essay, Nonfiction, Other, archived from buffster blog, cross-posted from tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 22:00:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17067926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecompanionrose/pseuds/thecompanionrose
Summary: Review/analysis of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes.





	Welcome to the Hellmouth (BTVS 1.01)

**Author's Note:**

> This is archived from my review/meta/analysis essays from tumblr (@buffster). This is part of a series analyzing every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the Series.

I. I remember how completely shocked I was when Darla turned around with her vamp face the first time I saw this. It let me know just how important (and cool) it is to subvert these tropes when I completely fell for thinking the guy was going to hurt the girl. The way she tricked him got me wondering if Darla was chosen because it sounds like darling. I head canon that Darla preferred fooling condescending men (the kind likely to call her “darling”) into being her food. The name fits her.

II. The scene where Buffy is dreaming and we get a preview of the season was super cool. I wonder why they kind of gave up the dream thing in later seasons? Did she lose that when the PTB stopped paying attention to her?

III. The characterization of Willow, Xander, and Buffy is remarkably consistent. I’m seeing signs of their issues and quirks all over the place. Our introduction to Xander is him falling flat on his face and the one for Willow is Xander asking her for help with homework. Willow also doesn’t believe Buffy would have any interest in her for anything other than school smarts.

IV. Bob Flutie seems like an actually decent principal. Really too bad what happened to him. Buffy isn’t used to keeping her secret and nearly blurts out that vampires were the reason she got kicked out of her last school. As I mentioned in my Normal Again commentary, this isn’t a girl who was locked up for saying “vampire”. 

V. Cordelia immediately tries to recruit Buffy. She says she would “love to live in LA” which is totally accidental but still cool foreshadowing. It comes naturally to Buffy to fit in (she gives Cordy all the “right” answers) and her slayer duties are the only reason she doesn’t. But she really doesn’t like the way Cordelia treats Willow. Given what we know of Buffy’s past (she says she was similar to Cordelia, was head cheerleader, etc) it’s likely most of Buffy’s friends made fun of people like Willow and that she did too. I head canon that Buffy had a change of heart about treating people that way when her friends booted her off the island as soon as she got a bit weird. After seeing Cordelia act that way she moves towards Willow as a friend. Well, that and the fact that Buffy trying to stake her kind of turned Cordy off. 

VI. Giles reminds me a lot of Wesley in this first episode. Buffy totally bewilders him by not jumping aboard the kill vampires train with enthusiasm. Are all Watchers the same starting out?

Buffy: For what? For getting kicked out of school? For losing all of my friends? For spending all of my time fighting for my life and never getting to tell anyone because I might endanger them? Go ahead. Prepare me.

Giles doesn’t seem to know how to respond. He says there’s a reason that Buffy is here; like she’s been called to Sunnydale. Early hint about the PTB?

VII. The first glimpse of Buffy’s relationship with her mother is shown. Joyce is talking about positive energy and reading parenting books. She seems like a bewildered mom trying really hard to handle an out of control teenager. Buffy doesn’t ask for permission to go to the Bronze, meaning that isn’t something she usually has to do. 

VIII. Buffy tells Willow to “Seize the moment, cause tomorrow you might be dead” Willow takes her advice and leaves with a vampire. 

Jesse is basically a carbon copy of Xander and the two were probably pretty close.

Buffy tracks down Willow and Jesse with Xander in tow and she is extremely confident. Her fighting skills are very obviously not as good as they’ll become and she’s being overpowered.


End file.
